Gordon's Campaign in China

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HARVARD
COLLEGE
LIBRARY

GORDO

^CAMPAIGN IN CHINA

^

BY HIMSELF

hi i / -. mi'/

U \ <A,tY.

WITH

8n Introduction anb Sb&ort account of tfee
Staffing UUbdlton ®

By COLONEL R. H. VETCH, O.B.

Retired LUt, ZoyaX Enginmrt

LONDON

CHAPMAN AND HALL, Limited

11, HENRIETTA STREET, OOVENT GARDEN, W.C.

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HARVAflOUNJYERSlTC

MAY 3 t985

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INTRODUCTION.

In some of the biographies of Charles George Gordon
— notably in the latest by Mr. Demetrius C. Boulger,
published in 1896 — fairly good aocounts have been
given of the campaign in China in which (Jordon <;
oommanded an army^gjU irregular Chinese for the < }
suppression of the l^OT^^bel^EL^^
have also DMn^^ished dealing solely and at length
with this part oTGordon's career. Of these the most
considerable are : (1) The " Ever Victorious Army"
A History of the Chinese Campaign under Lieut.-Colonel
C. G. Gordon, C.B., R.E., and of the Suppression of
the Tai-ping Rebellion, by Andrew Wilson, formerly
editor of The China Mail, published by William
Blackwood & Sons in 1868; (2) General Gordon's
Private Diary of his Exploits in China, amplified by
Samuel Mossman, editor of The North China Herald
during Gordon's suppression of the Tai-ping Rebel-
lion, published by Sampson Low, Marston, Searle,
& Bivington in 1885; and (3) Events in the Tai-
ping Rebellion, being Reprints of MSS. copied by
General Gordon, C.B., in his own handwriting, with

I

4 Introduction.

Monograph, Introduction, and Notes, by A. Egmont
Hake, editor of General Gordon's Journal at Khar-
toum, &o., published by W. H. Allen & Co. in 1891.

Mr. Andrew Wilson, whose book is muoh the best
of the three, had the advantage of writing his work
not long after the events recorded and in communi-
cation with Gordon, who gave him access to his
journals, correspondence, and other papers connected
with the Tai-ping campaign. But, as Colonel Charles
C. Chesney, -a brother-officer of Gordon, pointed out
in his Military Biographies; by introducing 1 into his fy

work disquisitions on the Chinese system of philo- '

sophy, the foreign policy of Pekin, and a variety
of other topios, Mr. Wilson contrived to obscure j

what he intended to illustrate, and managed to J

bury a great epic under a heap of information
which oould only be adequately set forth in several ?j

ponderous volumes.

The second work — Mr. Mossman's — is mere book-
making. Gordon's rough notes, which Mr. Mossman
dignifies with the name of a private diary, were no
doubt scribbled off in the interval of operations in
the field to oblige the editor of The North China
Herald by enabling him to furnish his readers with
articles on the progress of the campaign. They were j

evidently written in haste, did not occupy more
than twenty pages of foolscap, and were marked in

Introduction. 5

red ink " Private paper, not to leave Mr. Moss-
man's hands." Mr. Mossman does not explain how,
-with such an inscription, he came to publish the
paper. Its contents — less than fourteen pages of
printed matter — are scattered throughout a book of
three hundred pages, and the term " amplified 7 ' oh
the title-page is fully justified.

Mr. Mossman naively tells us that when he came
to England after the Tai-ping war was over, Gordon
asked him to write a history of the suppression of the
rebellion ; that the proposal fell through because Mr.
Mossman desired that it should be published with
Gordon's imprimatur, which he objected to give;
and that " another party undertook the task, which
appeared in magazinq and book form under the
title of The Ever Victorious Army." That is Mr.
Andrew Wilson's book, which appeared originally
in Blackwood? % Magazine, and was afterwards pub-
lished separately with many additions.

The last of the three works mentioned, and the
most bulky — running to ,over 500 pages — is a
detailed account of the rebellion and its suppression,
preceded by reflections of the editor upon Gordon
as a leader of men, and upon the foreign relations
of the Chinese Empire during the Tai-ping rebel-
lion, and followed by the Beminiscences of Major
Story, who served under Gordon. It is not stated

6 Introduction.

how much of the main portion of the work was
found in Gordon's handwriting, nor whether he
accepted any responsibility for its correctness, and
the names of the authors of the original are not
given. Small pains have been taken in editing
the work, and there are mistakes and contradictions
which, with some overlapping of parts, give the
impression of a compilation from various sources.
It is difficult for anyone acquainted with Gordon
to imagine him copying out with his own hand the
whole of so lengthy a document, the latter part of
which abounds with the phrase " Major Gordon did
this " and " Major Gordon did that," and still more
difficult is it to suppose that he would not have
inserted marginal corrections where he disagreed with
the narrative. 1

No apology need therefore be made— on the score
of what has been already published — for presenting
to the publio Gordon's own account of the suppres-
sion of the Tai-ping rebellion, which is both shorter
and simpler than that edited by Mr. Hake, and
differs from it in some details. In any case, it would
be of publio interest simply because it was written
by Gordon, but it is also a clear, concise, and neces-
sarily an authentic narrative of the events in which
he took so prominent a part It bears the character-
istic feature of self-effacement, for although he was

Introduction. 7

the leading personality in the incidents which he
chronicles, he rarely alludes to himself.

Just now the eyes of the whole civilised world
are fixed with the deepest interest upon the tragical
drama playing in China. A death-struggle has
commenced between East and West, between the
representatives of modern civilisation and all that
the term embraces, and the effete institutions of
ancient semi-barbarous raoes, between isolated self-
sufficiency and collective self-interest. Thus the
moment is opportune to publish . an authoritative
account of the suppression of a rebellion of Chinese
subjects, which, born in discontent with the existing
Government, and influenced by foreigners, and even
by Christianity, overran a large part of China,
developed into a cruel and fanatical despotism, pro-
fessed a grotesque and blasphemous creed, and
having seated itself for years in the valley of the
Yang-tse-Kiang — a standing menace to Shang-hai
and the provinces in which British interests prepon-
derate—was finally destroyed by Gordon.

The notes, now for the first time published by
permission of Miss E. M. Dunlop, General Gordon's
niece, and of the Committee of the Royal Engineers
Institute, were written by Gordon, for the informa-
tion of his brother officers, and contributed to Vol.

. of The Professional Papers of the Corps of Royal

<

8 Introduction.

Engineers, 1871. These papers at that time were
not published, but were printed for the use of the
officers of Royal Engineers only. Gordon's contri-
bution formed No. xiii. of the volume, and was
entitled. Notes on the Operations Round Shanghai
in 1862-63-64, by Lieut-Colonel 0. G. Gordon,
C.B., xv.Xi.

As Gordon gives no information as to the origin 7

and history of the Tai-ping rebellion, a brief sum-
mary of it, and an acoount of how he came to be at
hand to command the force which suppressed it, will \

form an appropriate introduction to Gordon's own
narrative.

Robert H. Vetch. j

London, 1900. ']

)

i

1

• i
i

<
i

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\

» . s 'A- <(

SHORT HISTORY OF THE TAI-PING

REBELLION.

Hukg-sen-tsuen, the originator and leader of the
rebellion, who afterwards styled himself the " Tien
Wang," or "Heavenly King," was the son of a
small farmer, who lived near the North River,
within thirty miles of Canton, and belonged to a
race of squatters called " Hakkas," or " Strangers,
considered almost too low to be entitled to enter i
the civil servioe of the State — the natural privilege'
of every true-born Chinaman. Hung was born, in
1813, and when he attained to manhood, whether
from prejudice on account of his race, or from his
own want of ability, he was repeatedly unsu<
in the competitive examinations at Canton, and f
to take a degree.

Disappointment and poverty, as well as ambition \
and revenge, combined to work upon a diseased /
imagination, and instigated him to action against \
the Government and the established order of things. (
He developed into a religious fanatic. He set him-: .
self up as a reformer and the destroyer of the

dogma, gross superstitions, and the glorification of
} its chief apostle Hung-sen-tsuen.
/ An attempt to arrest Hung in 1850 led him to
; proclaim his intention to overthrow the Manchu
\ dynasty, and to establish a new one, named " Tai-
^ ping/' or " Universal Peace/' in its plaoe, with him-

self at its head, under the title of the " Tien- Wang,"

10 The Tai-ping Rebellion.

system of idolatry,) regnei^l^} by the followers of
Confucius. He bltiame , subject to trances and
ecstasies, and was soon the admired leader of a j

large band of followers. He read Christian tracts, \

and in 1847 put himself under the teaching of a half - ;

) educated American missionary, with the result that J

he engrafted on his own superstitions all kinds of
fantastio caricatures of Christianity. Finding favour

I with the missionaries, his subtle mind imbibed their
instruction only to use it to advanoe his own preten-
tions to a divine mission. He lived oonoealed in the
hills, propagating a new creed, which was eagerly
aocepted by thousands of the poor and wretched
who had nothing to lose and everything to gain by
revolution.

The new creed abhorred idolatry, adopted the ten

/

x oommandments as its moral code, and the belief in (

)

\ one God as its main tenet. Although it was oertainly
v ' an advance upon Confucianism, it was a curious
( medley of very partially comprehended Christian

' v Anarmn. orrnaa nnruvmfifiivna «m<l fTiA crlnrifirw.fin'n nf 1

I

\

The Tai-ping Rebellion. n

or Heavenly King. His adherents, whose number
rapidly assumed large proportions, allowed their hair \
to grow long, and twisted it round their heads like j
a turban, in token of their allegianoe to the " Tien- (
Wang." They plundered and massacred wherever ,
they went. Hung nominated five of his friends, of <
the same low extraction as himself, to be " Wangs." I
They were given commands, and were known as \
the Northern, Southern, Eastern, Western, and S
Assistant Kings. '

Hung's ability as an organiser and as a leader was r
unquestionable. The army was organised on the
system of the Chow dynasty, divided into divisions
and regiments. Instructions for discipline were
issued in careful detail. A civil administration was
also elaborated.

After various suooesses in the south the " Tien-
Wang " left Yung-gan, which he had captured, and
with a large army commenced his predatory march <
to the north early in 1852. Although frequently \
defeated, city after city fell before him until in
March, 1853, he captured Nankin, the second city
of the Empire, massacring 20,000 Manchus he found
there. By the rapidity of his movements, aided by \
the peculiar Chinese system which makes each pro-
vince independent and careless of the welfare of the
other, and provides no permanent military organisa-

}

i2 The Tai-ping Rebellion.

tion for home defence or the suppression of out-
breaks, he had suooeeded in establishing himself on
the Yang-tse-Kiang, and had thus cut the Empire
in two. He strengthened the defences of Nankin
and other places by means of forced labour, and laid
in an ample store of provisions to enable the city to
stand a prolonged siege.
^ Haying dispatched an army to march on Pekin,
the " Tien- Wang " lived in retirement in his palace,
where he led a life of self-indulgence and fanaticism.
He displayed considerable administrative ability, and
although he never appeared in public, he nevertheless
( retained a remarkable power over his adherents both
1 as their religious and secular head.
r The sympathy of the missionaries, and even of the
( foreign consuls and officials, in spite of the wholesale
( massacres of Manchus, had been with the Tai-pings,
} who were represented as a people struggling to be j

I free, with aspirations after a purer faith. The mis- ;

sionary, Dr. Medhurst, author of China : Its Stale j

\ and Prospects, 1853, wrote : that " it would be sad to j

< x see Christian, nations engaged in putting down the
/ movement, as the insurgents possess an energy and
; a tendency to improvement and general reform
) which the Imperialists never have exhibited and
* never can be expected to display." (Parliamentary
Papers, 1853.) In May, 1853, Sir George Bonham,

The Tai-ping Rebellion. 13

the Governor of Hongkong, officially visited Nankin
to inform the " Tien- Wang " as to our treaty with
China, and of our intention to remain neutral.

In the autumn of the same year a secret organisa- >
tion called " Triads," aided by the mob, gained \
possession of the native city of Shang-hai, while a !
similar rising, with a like result, occurred at the same
time at Amoy . The foreign settlement at Shang-hai ,
was in a state of siege, protected by the foreign men- }
of- war at the anchorage and by a volunteer corps ,
ashore. This state of affairs lasted for more than ;
a year, during which time an Imperial army besieged \
the rebels without effect In December, 1854, the (
French admiral assisted in the attack, bombarded the .
native city, and landed a storming party, which was /
repulsed; and it was not until famine compelled ihe \
rebels, in February, 1855, to make a sortie that/
possession of the town was reoovered by the Im- \
perialist authorities.

The damage done to trade, and the heavy losses
entailed on the China merchants of the European
settlements by these risings, made foreign Govern-
ments doubt the wisdom of their policy of a benevo-
lent neutrality in favour of the Tai-pings ; and the
fear that the spread of the rebellion might endanger
the European interests at the mouth of the Yang- I I
tse-Eoang gradually led to a oonviotion that both for

\

14 The Tai-ping Rebellion.

the sake of civilisation and trade the rebellion should

//

(

• be put down.

In the meantime, the army dispatched by the

< " Tien-Wang " to march on Pekin, devastating the

country on its way, succeeded in forcing the Iin-

Iimming pass, and entered the metropolitan province

of Pe-ohi-li, reaching Tsing-hai at the end of October,

1853. Here it was within twenty miles of Tien-tain,

and a hundred miles of Pekin. The Emperor was

seriously alarmed for the safety of his dynasty, and

strenuous and successful efforts were made to ward

off the impending danger. The rebels, opposed, in

front, by the Tien-tsin militia and the Mongol cavalry (

and, in rear, by the levies of Hunan, were soon

I \ besieged in their hastily-fortified camp at Tsing-hai.

It Another army was sent from Nankin to their relief,

i and in March, 1854, the retreat of the combined

v armies began. It proved slow and disastrous. By

S March, 1855, not a Tai-ping remained north of the

< Yellow River, and but a small remnant made good j

< their retreat to Nankin. !
/ Several missionaries, who had hitherto believed

\ that the Tai-pings were paving the way for the

< triumphant spread of Christianity, visited Nankin
- after these occurrences. They were speedily disillu-

sioned. They found that the grotesque and bias- \
' phemous adoption of Christian terms covered the

/

The Tai-ping Rebellion. 15

grossest superstition. The illusion, however, had
already been imported to England, and among the
supporters of foreign missions much sympathy was
exhibited with the rebels. An illusion is always
difficult to dispel, and the favoured idea at home that
the rebels, if not Christians, were at any rate favour-
able to Ohristianity^fcqok a long time to eradicate.
This aooounts for tfi? want of enthusiasm exhibited
some years later, when mail after mail brought
intelligence of victories gained by Gordon, in his
energetio efforts to smash up th^**H«
The " Tien-Wang's" life^reT^
siderable scope to the power ancLofibitions of his
lieutenants. Jealousy and intrigue were rife. The \ I
Eastern King endeavoured to supplant his master, \
and was assassinated by the Northern King at /
Nankin, and some twenty thousand of his adherents /
were massacred. Then the Northern King put to
the sword all the adherents of the Assistant King, /
until his orueltieB and aojpganoe at last caused a )
rising in Nankin, imdJMUBjt^ {

These internal dissensions woul&liiffre proved fatal \

to the Tai-ping cause had it not been for the appear- ,

anoe of a new figure on the soene — a young offioer, \

Le-fze-ohing by name, afterwards known as the j

"Chung Wang," or « Faithful King," who had /

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1 6 The Tai-ping Rebellion.

; risen rapidly by the skill and bravery he had dis-
played. He distinguished himself in his first com-
mand by defeating a large Imperial army besieging
Ching-Kiang, and subsequently by driving the main
Imperial army from their trenches before Nankin.
) He was the most able of all the " Wangs." Gordon
\ wrote of him : " He was the bravest, most talented,
and enterprising leader the rebels had. He had been
in more engagements than any other rebel leader,
and oould always be distinguished. His preeenoe
with the Tai-pings was equal to a reinf oroement of
five thousand men, and was always felt by the
, superior way in which the rebels resisted. He was /

\ the only rebel chief whose death was to be regretted; \

( the others, his followers, were a ruthless set of bandit (

* chiefa."

The struggle went on, the Imperialists were
\ gradually gaining ground, and the prospects of the '-

\ Tai-pings were becoming critical, when this country
\ became embroiled with China. In 1856 difficulties
with the Chinese looal government at Canton came
to a head with the lorcha Arrow incident, when
; the British admiral took action, which led to our
second war with China. Canton was oaptured in : \\

December, 1857, the Taku forts at the mouth of .
the Peiho taken in May, 1858, and the Chinese
) Government forced to conclude the treaty of Tien-

)

The Tai-ping Rebellion. 17

tain at the end of the following June. The treaty
provided for a British and a French resident at (
Pekin, but, on the urgent representation of the (
Chinese Government as to the embarrassment which (
such a humiliation would cause them in faoe of the ;
Tai-ping rebellion, it was decided to allow the pro-
vision to remain in abeyance until the exchange of
the treaty ratifications should take place at Pekin (
in the following year.

In 1859 the Hon. (afterwards Sir) Frederick
Bruce, Lord Elgin's brother, was appointed British
plenipotentiary to exchange the treaty ratifica-
tions at Pekin, but on arriving at the mouth of
the Peiho his further progress was opposed. The
Taku forts were then attacked by the gunboats of
the British fleet, and by troops landed to assault.
The attack was repulsed with the loss of three gun-
boats and three hundred men, and it was decided
to withdraw and await instructions from home.

An anti-foreign feeling manifested itself by riots ~V
at some of the treaty ports, notably at Shang-haL '
England and France resolved upon combined action,
and a joint naval and military expedition was sent
to support the plenipotentiaries, Lord Elgin and
Baron Gtos, in their demand for the ratification of
the treaty and an indemnity. The demand was
categorically refused. The English and French

i

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1 8 The Tai-ping Rebellion.

forces under Generals Sir Hope Grant and de Mont-
auban landed at Pehtang on the Peh-tang river in {

August, 1860, to attack the northern Taku forts in
rear. Sin-ho was captured on 12th August, Tang-
ku two days after, and the redoubtable Taku forts
were carried by assault on the 21st August. The
expedition advanced to Tien-tain and Ho-si-wu,
when Mr. (afterwards Sir) Harry Parkes, Mr. (after-
wards Lord) Loch and others went to Tung-ohow
under a flag of truoe to arrange preliminaries of
negotiations between the plenipotentiaries, and were
made prisoners ; while the allies were confronted by
a Chinese army. The victories of Ohan-ohia-wan
and Pa-le-ohiaw on the 18th and 21st September
cleared the way to Pekin, and the summer palace of
the Emperor, near that oity, was occupied on 7th
October.

Gordon joined the army at Pa-le-chiaw and took
part in the march to Pekin, the occupation of the
An-ting gate, and the state entry of the plenipo-
tentiaries. On the conclusion of peace a force of
three thousand men under Brigadier-General (after-
wards Sir) Charles Staveley was left at Tien-tsin
and in occupation of the Taku forts, pending the
payment of the indemnity. To this force Gordon
was attached, and he remained there until, the
Chinese Government having sufficiently complied

v

The Tai-ping Rebellion. 19

with treaty obligations, headquarters were moved to
Shang-hai in the spring of 1862.

The diversion caused by the European embroil-
ment, and the subsequent war which China had to
wage with England and Franoe, had given fresh life
to the Tai-ping cause, and the valour and capacity
of the " Chung-Wang " enabled the rebels to
retrieve their fortune. By the end of May, I860, }
they held Nankin, Tung-Ching, Hoohow, Tung-pu,
Ngan-kin, Wu-hu, the Two Pillars, Tai-ping-fu,
Su-ohow, Quinsan, Tsing-pu, Tai-tsan, and other
plaoes, and were prepared to make a dash at Shang- ^
haL Such was the alarm of the Chinese Governor- (
General of the Two Kiangs that, while the French
expedition was preparing at Shang-hai for the Pekin
campaign, he actually applied for its aid to attack
the Tai-pings ! All the assistance he could obtain
from the European enemies of his oountry was a
guarantee given in a proclamation of the 26th May,
1860, that Shang-hai should be protected. Some
troops were therefore left at Shang-hai on the
departure of the expedition.

The Chinese authorities at Shang-hai themselves .
made preparations to recover from the rebels some
of the neighbouring plaoes, and the wealthy inhabi- ) S
tants, headed by one Ta-kee and the foreign mer- ;
chants, guaranteed funds for raising and paying a 1

20 The Tai-ping Rebellion.

, small force of foreigners to fight against the rebels.

) Some American adventurers — Frederick Ward, For-

• rester and Burgevine, of the filibustering type, were

( \ engaged to organise the force, which Ward com-

( manded, with the other two as his deputies. Ward's

\ first operation was an unsuccessful attack, with about

one hundred foreigners — mostly seafaring men — on

Sung-Kiong in July. After augmenting his force

by a company of Manilla men, he seized a gate of

the city and held it gallantly until the Imperialists

were able to come up and drive the Tai-pings out

of the city. This success, and the high rate of pay

( given to the men of the force, with special payments

< by results, attracted plenty of recruits. On 2nd

> August, Ward attacked Sing-pu, but was himself

severely wounded, and his force driven back with

great loss.

On the 18th August, 1860, the "Chung Wang"

advanoed, burning everything before him, and

attacked the Imperialists within a mile of Shang-

I hai, driving them into the city ; but the European

\ 'troops in garrison manned the walls and repulsed

, the rebels. The attack was renewed on the two

; succeeding days, but easily repulsed. The " Chung

'■> Wang " then relinquished the attempt on Shang-hai,

but devastated the country round and oaptured

Ping-hu and other towns.

/

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The Tai-ping Rebellion. 21

About this time Mr. Holmes, an American mis- \
sionary, visited Nankin. He found the " Tien- +
Wang " had developed his creed, had assumed the /
position of a Person of the Godhead and bestowed \
divine honours on his son. He also displayed an i
arrogance towards foreigners that completely pre- ;
vented Mr. Holmes from entertaining any hope that (
missionary enterprise would suoceed in Nankin, and ;
he came away thoroughly convinced that the mis- (
sionaries had been the victims of gross deception.

The treaty of peaoe signed at Pekin at the end
of October, I860, left the British admiral, Sir James
Hope, free to turn his attention to the question of
treaty ports opened by it to trade and to the detri-
mental influence exercised on trade by the Tai-ping
rebellion. In February, 1861, he went up the Tang- ,
tse-Kiang to Nankin, and entered into an agree- (
ment with the " Tien- Wang " by which, if the •
European Powers remained neutral, the Heavenly
King bound himself not to interfere with Shang-hai
for a year, nor to allow his adherents to approach
within thirty miles of the city. In May, 1861,
Ward made arrangements to attack Sing-pu again,
but the admiral and consuls, fearing that such action
might compromise them with the Tai-pings, and
would also be a great incentive to sailors to desert
from the foreign men-of-war and merchant vessels

\

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22 The Tai-ping Rebellion.

at the port, arrested Ward at Sung-Kiong. He
claimed Chinese nationality and was released, but
agreed to disband his f oroe, among whom were
found many deserters from the British Navy. Bur-
gevine, who was entrenched with some Imperialists
near Sing-pu, determined to make an attempt on
the city before his men were disbanded, but his
attaok was defeated with loss.

In September, 1861, Ward and Burgevine began
to drill Chinese, and being well supported by Ta-
kee and other merchants, the force was raised, to
which was afterwards given the high-sounding title
of "Oh'ang Sheng Chi'un" or "Ever Victorious
Army," but which was known officially, in less

} ornate language, as " The Disciplined Chinese, 9 ' or

( " The Foreign-officered Chinese."

In the meantime the fighting between the Tai-\

( pings and the Imperialists went on without break. ■*
On the one side Ngan-kin, held by the rebels, fell in
November, after a siege of three years, during the
last part of which they had endured the worst
horrors of a famine, having been reduced to feed upon
human flesh, which was openly sold at about a penny
a pound. On the other side, Hang-chow, held by
the Imperialists, was reduced to similar extremities,
and fell to the rebels at the end of December, 1861,
the Manchu garrison blowing themselves up.

1

The Tai-ping Rebellion. 23

The death of the Emperor of China in the
previous August, and Prince Kung's coup d'itat of j
the 2nd November, which overthrew the anti-foreign
party, executed its leaders, and placed the young
Emperor under the regency of the dowager Empress, [
enabled the European allies to act with greater con-
fidence in the interests of the foreign communities.
Towards the end of the year, on acoount of per-
sistent rumours of the intention of the Tai-pings to f
attack Shang-hai, Sir James Hope again visited (
Nankin and warned the " Tien- Wang" of the in- /
evitable consequences which would follow such an '[
attempt His answer was insolent, pointing out that v
the year of the agreement had nearly expired, and <
that no consideration of trade oould affect the opera- \
tions of his " divine troops." The British admiral •
intimated that any attack on Shang-hai or Wu-sung
would be at his peril.

In January, 1862, the British force at Shang-hai
consisted of a battery of Royal Artillery, the 22nd
Punjab Native Infantry, and a wing of the 5th
Bombay Native Infantry, to which were added early
in February two companies of the 99th Regiment
of Foot, while Ward's disciplined Chinese force was
over a thousand strong, drilled, and armed with
Tower muskets. In the middle of January the >
"Chung Wang" again moved on Shang-hai and \

)

24 The Tai-ping Rebellion.

( ravished the country close up to the foreign settle-
) ments. On the 10th February Ward sallied out of
Sung-Kiong, whioh he had made his head-quarters,
and captured the rebel position of Quan-fu-ling.
The Britiflh and French admirals, acting in concert ^

with Ward and with the Imperialist forces, by a
combined attack on the 21st February, captured
) Ka-chiaw, a rebel stronghold in the south, and, a
( week later, the town of Tsee-dong. It was these |

; successes that caused the Pekin Government to
I acknowledge the services of Ward's force by be-
i stowing upon it the title of " The Ever Victorious
Army" in a very handsome decree dated 16th March,
1862.

At the end of March the country round Ka-chiaw
was ravished by the rebels, and it was decided, on
the representations of the admirals, and with the
approval of the legations [and the Pekin Govern-
ment, to clear them out of the district within a
thirty-mile radius from Shang-hai. Brigadier-
General Staveley was free, as we have seen, to move
his headquarters from Tien-tan to Shang-hai, and
he arrived there at the end of March with part of
the 31st and of the 67th Regiments of Foot and a
detachment of Royal Engineers.

A joint naval and military expedition, under the
admirals and Brigadier-General Staveley, attacked

The Tai-ping Rebellion. 25

the rebels on the 4th April at Wong-kadza, twelve
miles to the west of Shang-hai, driving them out
of their entrenohments, when they fell back on a
series of stockaded defences some miles in rear.
Ward, with 500 men of his force, accompanied the
British admiral in pursuit, but met with a severe
check; Sir James Hope and seven other officers
were wounded and 70 men killed; but the next
day the stockades were captured. A fortnight later
Brigadier-General Staveley, assisted by the British
And French naval forces, captured Isi-pu, a rebel
stronghold twelve miles above Shang-hai, on the
right bank of the Wompoa river. A combined force
also moved on Kah-ding on 26th April, and the
place was carried by storm on 1st May, 1862.

Captain Charles George Gordon left the Peiho
with the headquarters of his company of Royal
Engineers on 28th April, and reached Shang-hai
on 3rd May, to find preparations in hand for an
attack on Tsing-pu. It is a great temptation to
tell of Gordon's doings and to relate what he has
omitted, but this has partly been told elsewhere,
and may be more fully related in another way. My
object here and now is to furnish such an intro-
duction that the thread of Gordon's own narrative
may be readily picked up and followed by the reader.

R. H. V.

NOTES ON THE OPERATIONS BOUND
SHANGHAI IN 1862-63-64.

By Ldeut.-Colonel C. G. Gordon, C.B., RE.

The following notes deal only with the military
operations of the foreign-offioered and the oo-opera-
ting Chinese forces against the Taiping rebels in
the provinoe of Kiangsoo, in the years 1863-64.
For the history of this rebellion, and the reasons
why our Government desired its suppression, other
works must be consulted.

The oountry in which the operations were earned
on consists of the triangular alluvial tract between
the Yang-tee-Kiang and Hang-chow Bay; it is per-
fectly flat and interseoted in every direction by
large deep creeks and canals, varying from 10 to
100 yards in width ; these sometimes widen out into
large lakes, 1} to 10 and even 40 miles in length
and breadth, narrow roads or causeways generally
following the courses of the prinoipal canals, to
which they serve as towing paths, and over which
they cross at times by stone and wooden bridges of

1

i
I

I

Gordon's Campaign in China. 27

various sizes. The country is oovered in prosperous
times with large and flourishing villages and towns,
the principal ones being surrounded by brick walls
from 18 feet to 24 feet high, generally possessing
four gateways which project as bastions to the
general line of the walls : outside these gates are
large suburbs, where most of the trade is carried
on to avoid the duty on goods taken through the
gates.

The walled towns are plaoed on the principal
canals, generally where two or more meet, and it is
the depth and width of the canals whioh decide the
size of the villages or towns, while the importance
of their junction decides their being walled or not.

Thus though there seems only an intricate net-
work of creeks, a careful observer will as soon per-
ceive the main features of the country as if there
were ranges of mountains and corresponding valleys;
he will see by the size of the arches on some of
the canals that the largest boats can pass, and will
oomprehend that these must lead to important plaoes.

In the spring of 1862, the rebel leaders held the
whole of the towns, with one exception (Sungkiong),
within ten miles of Shanghai; they had contemned
the dispatches of the British and French authorities,
directing them to keep a radius of thirty miles free
from their troops, and had hinted their intention of

28 Gordon's Campaign in China.

taking Shanghai itself. The British and French
Admirals and Generals determined on driving them
back to the thirty-mile radius, for which purpose it
was neoessary to capture the towns of Kahding,
Singpoo, Najow, and Oholin.
Kahding was breached and stormed on the 1st

SlNCPOO

May, 1862 ; Singpoo, on the 13th ; Najow, on the
17th ; and Cholin, on the 20th, by the British and
French forces; the garrisons of these towns were
allowed to escape through the cities not having been
surrounded. A detachment of British troops was left
with the Imperialists to garrison Kahding ; and on

Gordon's Campaign in China. 29

the day of the capture of Cholin, information was
received that Chung Wang, the chief leader of the
rebels, had advanced on and surrounded that place,
after defeating and capturing an Imperialist force,
which had imprudently advanced from Kahding
towards Taitsan. The morning of the 21st May,
1862, saw the allied British and French forces
returning from Cholin after burning it and blowing
up one of its gates, at the same time that the rebel
garrisons of three cities— Yongmei, Naiwai, and
Chuenza, numbering from 6,000 to 8,000, and of
Cholin and Najow, who had escaped — were defiling
along the sea-wall on the edge of Hangchow Bay,
the capture of Cholin having completely cut them
off from their oomrades. Leaving a detachment at
Najow, the allied forces returned to Shanghai, and
advanoed again to Kahding. The rebels fell back
on their approach. The garrison being withdrawn,
the allied forces returned to Shanghai, and the rebels
re-occupied Kahding, and flocked down to and sur-
rounded Singpoo, which was then oocupied by the
foreign-officered force of Chinese, under an American,
named Ward, whose headquarters were at Sungkiong.
On the 10th June, 1862, the allied forces were
obliged to advance to Singpoo to relieve its garrison:
the rebels fell back on their approach, and reoc-
cupied it on its evacuation. Thus ended the spri

I

30 Gordon's Campaign in China. ,'

!

operations, leaving the rebels in possession of~Kah-
ding and Singpoo.

On the 21st October, 1862, the British and French
forces again advanced on Kahding, breached the wall
and retook it, the garrison escaping. Singpoo was
taken by Ward's foreign-offioered force of Chinese,
on the 17th August, 1862. The end of 1862 found
the thirty-miles radius cleared of the rebels, and the
cessation of active operations against them on the
part of the British and French forces in the province
of Kiangsoo.

It is necessary to describe the foreign-offioered
force known by the Imperial Government under the
name of " Ever Victorious Army," or Ch&ng Sheng
Ohiun. Its creation is due to the American, Ward,
who, on' the invasion of Kiangsoo by the rebels in
1860, undertook the recapture of Sungkiong with a
party of 100 foreigners for a certain sum of money.
~This he accomplished by seizing a gate at dusk,
and maintaining his party there against the repeated
attacks of the rebels till the morning, when the
Imperialists came up to their assistance. The im-
petus that this sucoess gave to the desertion of sea-
men from the Royal Navy and merchant shipping to
join him, led to Ward's being arrested and his
foreigners disbanded. He then took to drilling
Chinese, the funds for their support being found by

Gordon's Campaign in China. 31

the rich merchants of Shanghai, and support was also
given him by the British authorities in the way of
allowing him to purchase old arms. He eventually
worked this nucleus into a force of from 6,000 to
7,000 Chinese, officered by foreigners of all nationali-
ties, and of all degrees of Ufa They were armed
with Tower muskets, and had a powerful artillery.
It was with this force he breached, assaulted, and
captured Singpoo in August, 1862. He was killed
in the attack of Tseki, September 21st, 1862, and
left the oommand of the force to Burgevine, also an
American. Ward was a brave, clear-headed man,
much liked by the Chinese mandarins, to whom he
was courteous in his manner, and a very fit man for
the command of the force he had raised.

Burgevine was a man of a different stamp, far
better educated than Ward ; and it is said that to
him is due the idea of training Chinese troops in
the foreign manner to oppose the rebels; he was,
however, when in command, indolent, temporising,
and arrogant in his manner to the Chinese merchants
who paid the force.

He took the command of the Ch&ng Sheng Chiun
on Ward's death, and held it till December, 1862,
when, in consequence of an altercation he had with
one of the principal Mandarins about the pay of his
troops, in which he lost his temper and struck the

32 Gordon's Campaign in China.

official, he was removed by Li Hung Chang, the
Governor of Xiangsoo, from the command of the
foroe. The only action which occurred during his
tenure of offioe was on November 13th, 1862, when
he repulsed with great slaughter, near Powokong, a
large foroe of the rebels who had moved down to
attack Singpoo.

Previous to Burgevine's removal from the oom-
mand of the force, Admiral Sir J. Hope had lent
him as chief of his staff Captain Holland, R.M.,
and on the fracas above alluded to having taken
place, the Governor Li applied to General Staveley
to appoint an officer. General Staveley nominated
the writer of these notes; but unwilling to supersede
Capi Holland, he suspended his assumption of the
command until the British Minister at Peking had
given his decision on the advisability of a British
Officer taking any part in the matter. Captain
(now Major) Holland retained the command till
March 23rd, 1863, when the Home Government in-
structed the General to place a British Offioer in
charge of the force if opportunity offered itself. The
General consequently named the undersigned, who
took over the command at the end of that month.

During Major Holland's tenure of office, he had
made an expedition against Taitsan, a city north of
Kahding, breached the walls, 14th February, 1863,

Gordon's Campaign in China. 33

near one of the gates, but failed in the assault and
lost two 32-pdrs., which the rebels, by a rush out
over the breach, captured.

At this epoch the Imperialists were in a difficulty
about the city of Ghanzu, whose rebel leader had
with his troops given in their adhesion to the Im-

FUflHAN
CHANZU

perialiflt Government; this city was now hemmed
in by the rebelsXunder Chung Wang, who had cap-
tured the fortified post of Fushan, which barred the
passage from the Yangtze to Ghanzu. Ghanzu stands
some 25 miles and Fushan about 5 miles from the
Yangtze.

34 Gordon's Campaign in China.

Previous to the writer's taking the oommand,
several attacks had been made on Fushan, which the
rebels had repulsed, and the state of Chanzuwas
most critical. The Governor Li requested that
Fushan might be taken, and on the 31st March,
1863, the 5th Regiment, four 12-pdr. howitzers and
a 32-pdr. on siege carriages, were embarked from
Sungkiong and prooeeded up the Yangtze to the
Imperial camps whioh were posted near Fushan.
The troops were disembarked on the 2nd, and the
plaoe reconnoitred on the 3rd.

The rebels held the large stone bridge over the
oanal whioh runs from Ghanzu to the Yangtze ; they
had enclosed a considerable number of houses with
a strong loop-holed wall, ditohes and abattis on each
side of the bridge, whioh was on a bend of the
oanal ; but near it on the west side of the canal were
some ruins which afforded cover close up to the
stockaded positions, and it was in these ruins the
guns were placed in the night of the 3rd of April.
It was determined to attaok the eastern stockade,
though the troops and guns were on the western
side of the canal, it having been observed that the
canal leading to Ghanzu was but imperfectly staked,
and that boats to form a bridge oould be passed up
it to the walls of this stockade, whioh stood some-
what in advance of the western one ; the rebels had

Gordon's Campaign in China. 35

relied on the width of this canal and had no abattis
along the walls; the guns also could bear both
on the connecting bridge and on the main road
leading from Chanzu, and thus prevent reinforce-
ments coming up.

Could confidence have been plaoed in the troops
the whole position oould have been turned, and the
result would, in all probability, have been an evacua-
tion ; but the troops had been twioe defeated, and
their slight morale was shaken under the oontinual
changes of oommander&r — —

At 7 a.m. the guns opened on the stockades at a
distance of 700 yards, the walls fell in flakes under
the 32-pdr. shot, a breach was soon made and the
rebel fire silenced. At 10 a.m. the boats advanced
slowly along the oanal and pulled up the stakes, and
the 12-pdr. howitzers were advanoed to the edge of
the ruins; a portion of the storming party were in
the boats, which, under the foreign offioers, formed
a bridge, and the plaoe was entered, the rebels
leaving the other stockade as the men landed ; the
loss was two killed and six wounded. The rebels
made a vigorous and nearly successful attempt to
retake the position about an hour after its capture,
which was repulsed with difficulty; they had sent
reinforcements into the works during the firing;
whioh, considering it was along the road directly in

36 Gordon's Campaign in China.

the line of fire of the 32-pdrs., speaks well for their
courage.

On the night of the 4th April Chung Wang and
his troops fell back from Chanzu, which, nearly at
its last extremity, opened its gates to the Imperialists.
Chung Wang had made many attempts to take the
plaoe, and had tried to breach the walls with the
two 32-pdrs. he had captured at Taitean, one of
which had burst from the rough shot fired from it.

The expeditionary troops returned to Sungkiong
on the 6th April, and to the end of the month every 1

effort was made to get the troops, which numbered
from 3,000 to 4,000, properly equipped, and to
organise the departments.

The force was divided into five regiments of
infantry and one of artillery, averaging from 600
men each, officered by men of all nationalities, the
non-commissioned officers being Chinese; to each
regiment was attached an interpreter. The artillery
consisted of two 8-in. howitzers, four 32-pdr. 25 owt.
guns, three 24-pdr. howitzers, twelve 12-pdr. howit-
zers on naval field carriages, eighteen 12-pdr.
mountain howitzers, fourteen mortars, of which four
were 8-in., and the remainder 5£-in. and 4 j-in., and
three rocket tubes. The guns were on siege car-
riages, and the whole of the ordnance and ammu-
nition were oontained in sixteen large boats. A

Gordon's Campaign in China. 37

large assortment of planks for platforms and bridges,
rope, and 3-in. elm mantlets, 10 ft. broad and 8 ft.
high, which were plaoed by the guns in action, and
which answered admirably in protecting the gunners,
were carried with these boats, together with about
150 feet of Blanshard's infantry pontoon bridge.
The flotilla consisted of from 40 to 50 Chinese gun-
boats, which would carry from 40 to 50 men each,
thus enabling 2,000 infantry to be moved by water
with celerity in any direction ; these boats carried a
9-pdr. or 12-pdr. gun in their bows. The rations
were oonveyed in eight or ten large boats, and con-
sisted of rioe and pork sufficient for the whole force
for ten or twelve days.

The commanding officers of regiments had a pro-
portion of bamboo ladders (with planks strapped on
them) and tools handed over to them, so that each
regiment could march across any country, however
intersected with creeks; they also had a party of
coolies to carry the spare ammunition. The men
were armed generally with Tower muskets, with
some 500 to 700 Enfields among the force.

The commanding officers dealt with their prisoners
according to a regular code, only extreme oases being
brought before the Commanding Offioer of the force,
whose endeavour was to leave as much as possible
to the commanding officers of regiments, after

38 Gordon's Campaign in China.

generally defining what he considered the interior
eoonomy of the troops should be; acting in the
same manner with respect to the Commissariat and
Military Store Departments, and dismissing the men
who failed to carry on their duties. By this means
he eventually got leaders who were zealous and
painstaking, and who oould be trusted. By fre-
quent personal and minute inspection, without the
slightest attempt at formality in the same, he had
the personal assurance of the state of each regiment
and department.

The hospital arrangements were under the care of
Staff Assistant-Surgeon Moffitt, who knew his work
so well as never to require anything more than
enoouragement, and whose name and skill will be
remembered for many a long day in the province of
Kiangsoo.

It is not necessary to dwell longer on the organisa-
tion of the force. The arrangements were just such
as any offioer invested with absolute power and a
little common sense would carry out. As a general
rule orders were given viva voce, and were seen
carried out ; forms and ceremonies were as much as
possible avoided (an advantage, as there were many
Americans in the force), and each commanding
officer, supreme in his command, felt himself
trusted.

Gordon's Campaign in China. 39

Attached to the force at various times were from
one to three small paddle-steamers, 90 ft. long and
24 ft. wide, drawing 3 ft. to 4 ft. of water, oarrying
a 32-pdr. gun in the bow, and a 12-pdr. howitzer
in the stern. These were commanded by Ameri-
cans, and did first-rate service.

The force at the end of April was thus well
equipped in every way, its departments organised,
and the means of transport available to move it in
any direction with celerity, and it was now deter-
mined to use it against the rebels. The Governor Li
had stated that the rebel chief Isah, of Taitsan, was
prepared to give over his city if the adjoining town
of Quinsan was attacked ; and accordingly the force
started for that town on the 27th April. It reached
Lokapan, a village fifteen miles from Quinsan, on
the 29th April, 1863, when dispatches arrived from
Li to the effect that Isah had treacherously decoyed
his brother's troops into the city of Taitsan, that
1,600 of them had been killed, and his brother's
camp taken. He requested that the operations
against Quinsan might be deferred, and that the
force should march across and attack Taitsan. On
the 30th they marched to the south gate of Taitsan,
and on the 1st May turned towards the west gate,
where the rebels had two large stockaded works
some 700 yards from the walls of the city. Fire

40 Gordon's Campaign in China.

was opened at 1 p.m. on the nearest stockade, and
in the meantime a regiment, under the oover of the
ruins which lay between the stockade and the town,
pushed on in skirmishing order to out off the retreat
of the defenders of the stockade, on whom the
artillery fire had begun to tell. Just as it was
decided on attempting the assault of the work, its
defenders, seeing their retreat menaced, evacuated it,
and a few shots oompelled the rebels to retreat from
the other stockade. Thus fell with little loss the two
and only outworks of Taitsan.

On the morning of the 2nd May, a regiment was
detached to prevent the escape of the rebels from
the north gate, and thus the east gate only was open
to them, and that led away from their supporting
cities, and would force them to make a long detour
by byeways to escape. Had there been troops
available this exit would also have been closed.

On reconnoitring the town, it seemed that the
creek leading up to the west gate, and then bifur-
cating, formed the ditch ; it was clear of stakes, the
rebels having depended on the exterior stockades,
now captured, to prevent an attack on that side. As
this would enable boats to be pushed up into the
ditch to form a bridge, it was determined to attack
here, though disadvantageous on account of the pro-
jecting bastioned gateway.

Gordon's Campaign in China. 41

The guns were landed one by one among the
ruins of the suburb, and opening at 500 or 600
yards' distance from the wall, soon began to bring it
down. As the enemy's defences got more and more
dilapidated, the guns were moved nearer, a heavy

QUtNSAN

fire of musketry was kept up on the walls, and
under this fire the boats were pushed up little by
little to the breach. The rebels kept up a very fair
fire, but lay oonoealed. At 3 p.m. the breach was
practicable, and the boats being pushed up to the
ditch, the storming party advanoed. In a moment

42 Gordon's Campaign in China.

the breach was crowded with rebels, who stood boldly
up, and threw bags of powder, with fuzes attached,
into the boats. The troops pushed on across the
bridge — one of the boats of which had been sunk
by the explosion of a powder bag — but could not
mount the breach, the rebels presenting a forest of
spears against their advanoe. Two 8-in. howitzers
were then brought up, and firing blind shells over
the heads of the stormers, mowed down the defenders
of the breach in soores, though they still attempted
to fire down at the storming party which lay in
the ditch. The sounding of the " advanoe " made
them show again, but after a time they got more
wary, and another attempt was made to mount the
breach, again to be frustrated. The rebel chief's
snake flags still floated out on the breach, and till
he left, it was said the breach would be defended.
A violent fire was directed on the spot, which hurled
masses of brickwork on the crouching rebels.
Another and third attempt by a fresh regiment
was made to mount, which was stoutly met by the
rebels, and the contending bodies swayed on the
edge of the breach for a moment, and then the
stormers surged over and the place was won, the
flags of the chief disappearing at the last moment.
On the breach the rebels lay in great numbers;
among them, fighting to the last, were two Ameri-

Gordon's Campaign in China. 43

cans, two Frenohmen, and three Sepoys of the 5th
Bombay Native Infantry— deserters. Several other
foreigners who were fighting for the rebels escaped ;
and in the town was captured Private Hargreavee,
a deserter from the 31st Begiment, severely
wounded. The losses the force had sustained in-
capacitated it from an active pursuit, and the chief,
Isah, with the greatest part of his fighting men, who
numbered from 8,000 to 10,000, escaped to Soochow.
Had the Imperialists been active they might have
caused much greater loss in the pursuit, but they
were cowed by the disastrous treachery of the
previous week, and did little beyond looking on.

Two mandarins of high rank and 300 Imperialist
soldiers, who had been taken prisoners by the previous
treachery, were set at liberty, and the Imperialists
gained a town which had been the scene of two
disastrous defeats. The chief, Isah, left a fuze
burning in a vault of powder under his house, which
in the course of the morning blew up, but did little
harm.

On the 4th May the force moved towards Quinsan
to carry out the original programme, but the soldiers
were so burthened with loot that it was found neces-
sary to return to Sungkiong ; an Imperialist force
under General Ohing having stockaded itself off the
west gate.

44 Gordon's Campaign in China.

On the return of the force to Sungkiong, a diffi-
culty arose concerning its command. Burgevine
after his dismissal had gone to Pekin, and through
the intervention of the British and American
Ministers, who considered him ill-treated by the
Governor, had returned with an edict authorising
him to retake the command ; this the Governor Li
would not accede to, and the British General Brown
refusing to interfere, the force remained under the
undersigned.

On the 24th May, the force left Sungkiong for
the last time for Quinsan, it having been observed
that its discipline would be better maintained in the
field than in garrison away from the enemy. Quin-
san is a town of great strategical importance ; it is
situated 40 miles south of Chanzu, and from it
diverge large navigable canals. Its possession by
a force in command of the waters precluded any
hostile advanoe on Shanghai. It is a city with a
wall 18 feet high and four miles in circumference,
and with a very wide ditch. To the north of it,
and inside the walls, rises a steep hill 250 feet to
350 feet high, with a pagoda on the top. From
this the flat country around can be seen on a clear
day for 30 miles.

A large canal runs from its west gate to Soochow,
the prefeotural city of the province; large lakes

Gordon's Campaign in China. 45

46 Gordon's Campaign in China.

extend to the north and south of this canal, along
the north bank of whioh runs the only road to
Soochow; another road leads from the north gate
to Chanzu, then garrisoned by Imperialists. It
will, therefore, be seen that if the road to Soochow
was out, the garrison of Quinsan must either sur-
render or starve. The experience gained at Taitsan
showed that efforts should be made to avoid the
costly mode of attack by breach and assault, and
to strike at the rebel communications.

It has been related that the Imperialists under
General Ghing had entrenched themselves off the
east gate of Quinsan soon after the fall of Taitsan,
and in the middle of May the rebels had issued out
from Soochow, and had almost surrounded the
Imperialists 9 position by stockades and breast-
works. It was therefore neoessary to drive these
f oroes back before any further movements against
Quinsan oould be undertaken. Aooordingly, on the
arrival of the force at Ching's oamp on the 28th
May, the rebels were attacked in flank, and, after a
sharp but short engagement, they evacuated their
positions, and retired to the north and west of the
city. On the 29th May the great canal leading
round the city and joining the great canal from
the east gate of Quinsan to Soochow was recon-
noitred by the steamer Hyson ; an imprudent pro-

Gordon's Campaign in China. 47

ceeding, as it might have shown the rebels their
weak points. This canal joins the other about
10 miles from the east gate of Quinsan, and this
junction was defended by two stockades, with the
village of Chunye strongly intrenched a little way
to the north-east*

At 3 a.m. on the 31st May the steamer Hyson,
350 infantry embarked on board Chinese gunboats,
and a proportion of field artillery, started for
Chunye. The rebels mustered much more strongly
than the day before, and replied briskly to the
fire of the 32-pounder on board the steamer, which
steamed up to the stakes that stretched across the
creek. A part of the infantry were landed, and
advanoed towards the stockade, which was on the
same side of the great canal as they were, and
which was quite isolated. The defenders of this
stockade, seeing the steamer pushing its way
through the stakes, threw themselves into boats
and into the water and evacuated the work, a pro-
ceeding followed immediately after by the defenders
of the other stockade. The infantry then crossed
and occupied it, and leaving a party in it, passed on
towards the village of Chunye, whioh was evacuated
on their approach ; thus the grand line of retreat
was out, and with only the loss of two men. As
the Hyson turned to the left towards Soochow, a large

•I

48 Gordon's Campaign in China.

body of rebels appeared coming down from that
place to reinforoe the stookades; she opened on
them with grape and shell, and pressed their rear
as they retreated along the narrow causeway ; they
could not go to the right, for there at no great dis-
tance lay the Yangsing Lake, which had large
branches running from it to the main canal, over
which branches the oauseway passed by narrow and
high bridges. At each of these bridges delays
occurred, and the rebels suffered severely. About
three miles from Chunye a large masonry fort
defended the advance, which was taken by the
fugitives rushing pell-mell into it. A large single-
arch bridge crossed the canal here, which the steamer,
lowering her funnel, passed under, while runaways
were, crossing over the bridge above. The retreating
mass, joined by the garrison of Ta Edin, oontinued
to fly in front of the steamer until Siaou Edin,
another strong stockade, was reached, which, with
another called Waiquaidong, was evacuated on its
approach. This was a mile from Sooohow, whose
garrison were evidently in a great state of alarm ;
but here it was necessary to turn, for it was 7 p.m.,
and the chase had lasted sinoe 1 p.m.

On its return the steamer met crowds of rebels
whom it had left behind, who opened fire on it, and
who met with sweeping showers of grape and canister.

Gordon's Campaign in China. 49

The neighbouring villagers flocked down, looted the
stockades, and murdered such of the rebels as were
lurking about. At 2 a.m. on the 1st June the
steamer passed Ta Edin, and . all at once a heavy
fire was opened from the stockades which had been
captured, mingled with cheers and yells. It was the
garrison of Quinsan attempting their escape. It is
doubtful how the matter might have gone, had not
the Hyson steamed up and delivered a charge of
grape into the assailants, who fell back dismayed
towards the town, and who eventually to the num-
ber of 8,000 surrendered. The remaining part of
the force which had been left at the west gate entered
the city at daybreak. The loss of the rebels was
upwards of 4,000 killed by the Hysons artillery
and the peasantry, and drowned in the creeks in
attempting their escape.

It was decided to make Quinsan the headquarters
of the f oroe, instead of Sungkiong, which was too
far removed from the enemy.

It was now necessary to look to the oapture of
Soochow, which was admirably situated for having
its communications cut off by a f oroe strong on the
water. On the east side the Imperialists, under
Ghing, held "Waiquaidong ; on the south, the town
of Wokong was wanted to cut off the communi-
cations in that direction, and to enable the steamers

D

50 Gordon's Campaign in China.

to get into the Taiho lake to cut off the city to the
west ; and the town of Wusieh was wanted to oat
off the communications to the north: these two
towns captured, it would be only a question of time
when Soochow would fall.

The foroe left Quinsan for Wokong on the 26th
July, and on the 28th it arrived in face of Kahpoo,
where the canal from Quinsan joins the grand canal;
this junction was defended by two strong stockades,
out of which the rebels fled after the troops had
begun to threaten their communications with Soo-
chow. The communications of Soochow to the south
and west were now virtually cut, for from Kahpoo
runs, from the grand canal, the waterway for
steamers into the Taiho lake; but Wokong was
too near Kahpoo for its safety ; it might be attacked
from both sides and cracked like a nut, though per-
haps it would have proved a hard one. It was
desirable to take Wokong, so that when oaptured
its garrison would look after attacks from the south,
while Kahpoo repelled them from the north.

On the 29th July, after leaving a garrison in
Kahpoo, the force marched along the grand canal
towards Wokong, and surprised the large bridge over
it near the east gate ; the rebels rushed out to rein-
force a stockade they had some 700 yards from the
north gate, but one of the regiments was too quick

Gordon's Campaign in China. 51

52 Gordon's Campaign in China.

for them, and following them up, entered the
stockade with them. The north and east gates
were now dosed ; on the west was the Taiho lake ;
and there was only the south gate to secure in order
to have the city. Leaving a regiment at the east
and north gates, the remainder of the f oroe pushed
on to the south, where the rebels had a large stone
stockade, rather too far from the city to be afforded
any help. The moment a company crossed the
canal and threatened its rear, the rebels vacated
the stockade, and the city was surrounded.

It was now 11 a.m., but there remained another
stockade about a mile to the south of the grand
canal, which was evacuated on the approach of a
company ; it was on the junction of a large stream
from the east with the grand canal, and soon after
the occupation of it there came sailing down this
stream a large flotilla of rebel gunboats, which had
been dislodged from some outlying districts to the
east of Wokong. On their seeing that the creek
they were descending was in hostile occupation,
they turned off into the creek leading into the
grand canal near the east gate of Wokong, not
knowing that the work at its junction had fallen.
The regiment let them approach close, and pouring
a volley into them oaptured them all ; thus adding
to the force's flotilla 35 good gunboats.

Gordon's Campaign in China. 53

Though expecting a heavy sortie at dusk, every-
thing remained quiet till 4 a.m. on the 30th July,
when the gates of the city were thrown open and
the plaoe surrendered* Four thousand prisoners
were taken, and in this case, as with the prisoners
at Quinsan, several hundreds were taken into the
ranks to fill the gaps caused by desertion ensuing on
successful looting in the town. The chief of the
city, who was a brother of Chung Wang, had
escaped in the night by a boat.

Thus were gained in four days the rebel communi-
cations to the south, and a free entry into the Taiho
lake, which cut them off from the west ; the east was
already held by the Imperialists at Waiquaidong ;
while to the north was Chunye. The oapture of
Wokong compelled the rebels to make a detour of
the Taiho lake in order to communicate with the
cities they held in the south.

It was now decided to try and oapture Wusieh to
cut the line of retreat to tile north-west, but the
departure of Burgevine with 120 foreigners and a
small steamer, the Kajow, changed the aspect of
affairs and compelled a more oautious warfare.
The Imperialists put garrisons into Wokong and
Kahpoo, and the force returned to Quinsan.

Burgevine's arrival at Soochow encouraged the
rebels greatly, and led to the chief making a

54 Gordon's Campaign in China.

vigorous attack on the Kahpoo position on the 4th
August, which the Imperialists repulsed with diffi-
culty ; it was sufficiently near success to oblige re-
inforcements being sent from the force at Quinsan,
which, supported by the steamers, drove back the
rebels and their foreigners, and pursued them
towards Soochow. They had been very daring, and
had brought up a 12-pounder against the stockades,
to the ditches of which they had advanoed in their
attacks.

Affairs remained very quiet till the end of
September, the weather being very hot, and the
number of foreigners in Soochow rendering any
great flank movement towards Wusieh a dangerous
proceeding.

The troops being unhealthy in Quinsan, it was
determined to move them to Waiquaidong, and put
them under canvas. At the end of September a
move was made which was attended with important
oonsequenoes ; at a place on the grand canal called
Patachiaou, about a mile and a-half from the south-
east angle of Soochow, a large and deep canal leads
towards Shanghai ; this out the line of Imperialist
communications between Waiquaidong and Kahpoo,
and if an exit of rebel troops were made in force by
this canal, the communications of the f oroe would be
jeopardised, and itself exposed to an attack in flank.

Gordon's Campaign in China. 55

It was therefore determined to try and oapture
Patachiaou by surprise, and thus olose this exit.

On the 29th September, 1863, at 2 a.m., in a
drizzling rain, 500 infantry, with artillery, and the
Hyson steamer, moved from Waiquaidong towards
Patachiaou, the vicinity of which they reached about
5 a.m. ; the rebels were completely surprised, and
fled from their strong works at almost the first shot.
An effort was made, later in the day, by the rebel
chiefs of Sooohow and their foreigners to retake the
position, but it was easUy rspslted ^1^
appeared in Garibaldian shirts, but in this instance
their efforts did not amount to much. Experience
showed in these operations that attacks made in wet
weather on Asiatics were generally very successful,
their minds apparently becoming easily depressed.

On the 1st October the steamer Kajow, with a
cargo boat on each side of her, desoended the grand
canal, flanked by Burgevine and his followers and a
large body of rebels, led by Mow Wang, the chief of
Sooohow. The Kajow and one of the oargo boats
had 12-pounder howitzers in their bows, while on the
other cargo boat was a 32-pounder. The small force
at Patachiaou barricaded the gorge of their work,
and prepared for defence. The rebel artillery fire
was very accurate, and affairs looked doubtful, when
the Hyson came round the point from Waiquaidong ;

56 Gordon's Campaign in China.

this caused the rebels to hesitate, and when they did
advance to the assault they were attacked by a heavy
fire in flank, from a company which had been placed
outside the work, under the bank of the creek leading
to the west They retired, and, keeping up a desul-
tory fire for some time, eventually returned to
Sooehow. During the night they attempted to
surprise the stookade, but were discovered at about
700 yards from the work, and gave up the attempt

Two days after this Burgevine came down with a
flag of truce, and saw the writer of these notes. He
prof eased himself disappointed with the conduct of
the rebel chiefs, and willing to come over with the
foreigners, and steamer, and artillery, if the men
were paid for their service with the rebels ; this was
agreed to, and Burgevine returned to Sooehow ; it
being left to him to fix his own time.

Things remained quiet till the 12th October, when
information was received that the old rebel chief
Isah of Taitsan had come up against Wokong, and
had entrenched his force off the south gate. The
Imperialists were greatly alarmed, and requested an
expedition to be sent against him. On the 13th
October this was done, and his position being
attacked in front was taken only with great diffi-
culty, time not allowing a flank movement. The
rebels lost but slightly, as their retreat was not

Gordon's Campaign in China. 57

molested. Two heavy explosions had been heard
from the north of Soochow on the 12th October, and
the cause of them was ascertained on the return of
the expedition to Wokong, where two of Burgevine's
offioers had come in with a flag of truce. It ap-
peared that Burgevine, always vacillating, thought
he would try and capture the Imperialist position at
Ta Chiaoku, to the north-west of Soochow : this was
held by the troops of the Futai, or Governor's
brother, who had starved Kongyin, a city on the
Yantgtze, into submission, and whose force, num-
bering from 10 to 20,000, had taken up a position
parallel to the grand canal, their right being about
12 miles from Wusieh, and their left at Ta Ghiaoku.
Burgevine, with the Kajow steamer and his
artillery and foreigners, started with the Chung
Wang, who had arrived from Nankin. On the 12th
October they approached the position and surprised
35 Imperial gunboats, and two large boats laden
with powder. Burgevine, whose relations with Chung
Wang were not on the best footing, undertook to
capture the stookades, upon which he opened a
violent fire. He had landed the foreigners for the
assault, when a spark fell into a powder case in the
Kajow, and blew her bow open. The Imperialists,
who had already begun to evacuate the stockade,
saw the steamer sinking, and returning to the loop-

58 Gordon's Campaign in China.

holes drove the assaulting party back. Burgevine
then retired, leaving the wreck of the Kajow y and put
his wounded into the powder boats he captured in
the morning. By some accident one of them ex-
ploded, and at the close of the day he had lost the
steamer and nearly half his foreigners. Chung
Wang was so put out at his failure that he ordered
him and his party back to Soochow, where they f

arrived on the 13th, regarded with the greatest sus-
picion by the rebels. This was the account given
by Burgevine's officers, who said that if a false attack
was made on the next day, they would during it pass
over from the rebels. They returned to the city,
and on the conoerted false attack being made from
40 to 50 foreigners came over. Burgevine, however,
was not with them, but on the following day he
oame out by the permission of the rebels, and thus,
though some of his party remained with the rebels,
the formidable aspect which affairs had assumed no
longer existed, and the force was left at liberty to
carry out the original programme of cutting off the
remaining communications of the city.

On the 23rd October, Wuliungohiaou, a strong
stockaded position west of Patachiaou, was taken.
On the 26th, another attempt from the south to take
"Wokong was repulsed with great loss to the rebels ;
and then, turning north, the positions of Leeku

Gordon's Campaign in China. 59

(November 1st) and Wanti (November 11th) were
captured. In all these engagements the rebels lost
heavily, their positions being surrounded and taken
before reinforcements could reach them from the city.
Their garrisons numbered from 800 to 1,000 strong,
but their stockades were narrow, and the 32-pounders
tore through them from side to side. At Wanti,
through a mistake, one column entered on one side
as another column came in at the other. The rebels
fought desperately, which, together with the cross
fire of the assaulting troops, caused many casualties.
In these attacks an attentive reconnaissance of the
rebel works and an overwhelming artillery fire ren-
dered the captures easy. The dates on which they
occurred** ell almost day for day on the days agreed
on — after Burgevine had left the rebels — with the
Chinese generals that they should be taken.

The capture of Wanti completed the junction of
the forces under the Futai's brother with those
under the writer and General Ghing, whose troops
garrisoned the captured works — the former extending
parallel to the grand canal (as has been remarked),
from a place opposite, and 12 miles from Wusieh,
where his right wing rested, to Ta Chiaoku, which
his left wing occupied. Cbing's right wing rested
on Wanti, and extended by Leeku, Waiquaidong,
Patachiaou, to Wuliungohiaou, whioh his left wing

60 Gordon's Campaign in China.

oocupied ; while the steamers and a large flotilla of
gunboats occupied the Taiho lake.

It remained only to cut the grand canal to isolate
the city ; to do this was a perilous undertaking, as
any foroe advancing towards it was liable to be
attacked in flank by the Chung Wang, who held a
strong position at Mehtaohiaou near Wusieh, or by a
sortie from the garrison of Sooohow. It had been
arranged that two positions should be oaptured on
the grand canal, viz., Monding and Fusaiqwan ; the
object of this being to avoid a simultaneous attack
on both sides, from Wusieh and Soochow, which
might have ensued had only one position been taken.
By the capture of Monding and Fusiaqwan, the
garrison of the former would face Wusieh, and the
garrison of the latter oppose any attack from Soochow.
The Futai's brother agreed to throw forward his left
wing and garrison Monding when taken, if Ghing
would bring forward his right wing and occupy
Fusaiqwan when taken.

The capture of the Firefly steamer — in the employ
of the foroe — in the harbour of Shanghai, by some
rebel sympathisers, on the eve of the foroe proceed-
ing to the attack of Chung Wang's position at
Mehtaohiao, preliminary to the advance on Monding,
upset these plans, and necessitated contentment with
the capture of Fusaiqwan alone, the, Futai's brother, U

l\\

Gordon's Campaign in China. 61

in virtue of the non-capture of Monding, considering
himself absolved from giving any help.

The position of Fusaiqwan 'was surprised and
taken without loss on the 19th November, the rebel
reinforcements from Soochow, as usual, coming only
in time to be driven back with loss, and thus, with
the exception of a small country road by the hills
near the Taiho lake, the city of Soochow was sur-
rounded

Ching, however, fearing to be nutoraokered, ob-
jected to garrison Fusaiqwan, which necessitated the
leaving of the 1st Regiment and some artillery there,
a serious diminution of the force, at the time when
it needed every man. There now remained the
seoond line of stockades, which extended round the
city at the distance of 500 yards from the walls.
These defences were very strong ; a breastwork ran
along the whole front on the edge of a wide creek,
and the stockades were admirably placed as redoubts
behind it. When the breastwork was taken the
stockades could hold out, and the flatness of the
general line presenting no salient, and the proximity
of the city walls, which mounted several cannon,
among which was the 32-pounder captured at Tait-
san, prevented any attempt being made to cut off the
rebel retreat.

In the Malakofi, the Russians allowed the front of

62 Gordon's Campaign in China.

their redoubt to be in the outer line, a mistake which
lost them Sebastopol, for when the outer line was
entered, the redoubt was as useful to the Frenoh as
if they had made it.

From the reports of the foreigners who had come
out of Soochow, it was supposed that these works
were left weakly guarded at night, and that they
could be easily oaptured by surprise. Accordingly,
arrangements were made for a night attack on the
nearest stockade close to the east gate. Several signi-
ficant signs seemed to presage a failure. The attack
was fixed for 2 a.m., on the 27th November. At
midnight an eolipse of the moon took place, a phe-
nomenon much feared by the Chinese. At 1 A.m. a
prisoner, on being questioned as to a lantern on the
east gate, declared it to be a sign that Mow Wang
was there. The attack, however, took place, and the
troops pushed up quietly in boats to the stockade
and landed in silence. The creek was passed by a
causeway the rebels had left, and it was only as they
scaled the breastwork that they met with a volley
right in their faces. They pushed on and carried
the breastwork, but could not be got to try the
stockade, which kept up a heavy fire on them. After
an hour or two it seemed useless to persevere, as the
losses had been heavy, and the troops were more or
less in disorder, so they fell back, carrying off the

i

Gordon's Campaign in China. 63

dead and wounded. It appears that Mow Wang
knew of the attack, and that he was with his body
guard in the stockade. He lost a good many of his
best men, and was described as being very much
oast down. Several foreigners who were with him
were killed.

It was now determined to attack by daylight, and
to employ the heavy artillery to break down the
works. At 7 a.m. on the 29th November, fire was
opened on the works, and the stockade was set on
fire; large gaps soon appeared, and at 11 a.m. the
assault was made. By some mistake the length of
Blanshard's bridge which was put together was
found too short, but the troops managed to ford
and get across by the broken causeway ; and though
the rebel resistance was very bold, and Chung Wang
who had come down was most daring in leading on
his men, the work was carried. Turning to the
left, the troops carried the other stockade, and then
passing to the right, they compelled the evaouation
of the whole outer line, and captured a 24-pounder
howitzer.

Thus fell the second line of rebel works, though
oosting a heavy loss of life — twenty-seven officers
being killed and wounded. The rebels lost about
twenty-five stockades in the panic which seized them
after the action.

64 Gordon's Campaign in China.

From the captured stockades the city ditch, 300
feet wide, and the walls, 24 feet high, could be
seen ; and the point of attack was decided on at the
north-east angle, where an enfilade fire could be
obtained on the two faces. Batteries were thrown
up at night to cover the guns, and the Blanshard
bridge stretohed out by planks and other means to
span the stupendous ditch ; but symptoms of waver-
ing began to show themselves in the garrison. Over-
tures of surrender were made by some of the chiefs,
which were suspected by Mow Wang, whom the
conspirators slew at the council table, at 2 p.m. on
the 5th December. They sent out his head to the
Futai that night, and gave up the city on the 6th
December. They were, however, treacherously mur-
dered by the Futai on the afternoon of the 7th j
December. \

Large stores and a number of foreign guns wore !

captured in the city, whose fall caused the evacua-
tion of Wusieh, on the 13th Deoember.

The force remained inactive at Quinsan till the
end of February, in consequence of the above trea-
chery of the Governor ; but though the same was
inexcusable, the writer did not consider that the
object which the British Government had in view
when they allowed him to serve the Imperialists
should be allowed to fall through, and, consequently,

Gordon's Campaign in China. 65

66 Gordon's Campaign in China.

the foroe resumed active operations on the 23rd
February.^ ^

The position of the rebels was peculiar ; the shape
of the country they held resembled a dumb-bell ; in
the upper part of which they had Nankin, Tayan,
Kintang and Chanchufu; in the waist they had
Tesing and Liyang; and in the lower part they
held Changohing, Wuchu, Kashing, Hangchow, and
several other smaller towns. It will be seen that a
vital blow would be struck if the waist were out
through by the captures of Tesing and Liyang, to
approach which the Taiho was most convenient.

This plan was agreed on, and on the 26th February
the force, passing through Soochow and Wusieh,
reached the north gate of Yesing, to the surprise of
its garrison. This city lies between two lakes, one
on the east and the other on the west. The Im-
perialists undertook to guard the north of the city,
while the force was crossed over to the eastern lake to
the south. At 3 p.m. on the 27th February a regi-
ment was passed over with artillery and disembarked
on the south side of the lake, meeting with but feeble
resistance from the rebels, who retired into their
stockades. These were followed by the remainder of
the foroe next morning.

On reconnoitring, it appeared that a large deep
canal ran south of the city, and 800 yards from it,

Gordon's Campaign in China. 67

68 Gordon's Campaign in China.

from lake to lake ; over this was a large high stone
bridge ; the line of this canal and this bridge was
defended by breastworks and stockades. It looked
difficult to attack, so the infantry were directed to
move parallel to it and out of range, to the western
lake. With the view of distracting attention and
enabling two hundred infantry to cross the canal and
carry the breastwork unperceived, these men were
concealed in boats in a branch creek leading into the
canal, and their advance was to be covered with
artillery also concealed in the adjacent ruins. The
ruse succeeded, for the rebels drew the bulk of their
forces off towards the great bridge which they thought
was threatened. Through a mistake the troops,
making a detour, got further off from the city than
was intended ; and while they were in this position
a large force of the rebel reinforcements was seen
wending its way towards the high bridge from
Liyang. This force was allowed to pass on to the
narrow causeway which, with a wide ditch on each
side, led to the bridge. Once on this they could not
deploy, and the troops pressing them in rear caused
a fearful panic. The rebels at the bridge shut the
gates, but the fugitive Liyang reinforcement stormed
the position in spite of the fire the Tesing men
opened on them. The pursuing infantry entered
with them, at the same moment as the two hundred

Gordon's Campaign in China. 69

infantry pushed across the oanal, and carrying the
breastwork, turned the position.

By noon the whole of the rebels' positions outside
the walls south of the city were oaptured, the north
was already closed, and the lakes prevented any escape
to the east and west At 2 a.m. on the 29th February
the city threw open its gates and surrendered, its
chiefs haying escaped by boat.

The lake to the east of Teeing is joined by two
deep canals with the Taiho lake, and on the most
southern of these, Tapuku, the rebels had a cluster of
stockades. Some of their chiefs wanted to surrender,
others did not, so it was necessary to send down a
small force to compel the unwilling chiefs into sub-
mission. This small force arrived off the place at
dusk, and communicated with the friendly chiefs,
who described their stockades to be on the north of
the creek, and those of the unfriendly chiefs to be on
the south. The attack would have been rather a
difficult one, but the flight of the unfriendlies settled
the matter.

On the return of this force to Yesing, the Hyson
steamer made her appearance, having passed in
through the northern oanal from the Taiho lake.

On the 7th March the force marched by land
towards Liyang ; the flotilla, convoyed by the Hyson
steamer, proceeded in the same direction, with in-

70 Gordon's Campaign in China.

Btmctions to feel their left at about 18 miles from
Teeing, where it was intended to halt. Through
some mistake they did not do so, and the troops,
separated from the oonvoy, for the first and only
time during these operations reoeived no rations.
On the 8th the mistake was rectified, but several
boats went astray and fell into the hands of the
rebels.

It was found that the road from Tesing to
Liyang to the south made too great a detour, so
that it was necessary to move the 3,000 infantry and
4,000 Imperialists across to the northern road, a
distance of eight miles, no small operation, as there
were upwards of 13 canals from 60 to 100 yards
wide to cross over ; however, with the help of the
gunboats, all was accomplished by the night of the
8th March.

At 9 p.m. some of the boats which went astray
into the rebel lines came back with a letter from the
rebel chiefs of liyang, offering the surrender of the
city. The Hyson started with 150 infantry at onoe,
and at dawn reached the stockades outside the city.
The rebels scarcely expected their arrival so soon ;
however, they gave over one stockade, and eventually
opened the gates of the city. The remainder of the
force came up in the course of the day, having had
to cross twenty-seven wide creeks, as the rebels had

Gordon's Campaign in China. 71

broken all the bridges : and thus the waist of the
dumb-bell was out.

The garrison of Liyang oould not have been less
than 20,000 men ; the chief Shih Wang was next to
the Chung Wang in rank. He had gone out the
day before to reoonnoitre, and had been shut out by
the other chiefs, who surrendered as related.

It should have been mentioned that to the west
of liyang were 40,000 Imperialist soldiers belonging
to Tseng Qwo Fau, the Generalissimo commanding
the forces round Nankin. These troopfl acted as a
covering force to the investment. The capture of
Liyang liberated these troops for other duties.

It had already been considered that, in the event
of success in the captures of Yesing and Liyang, the
force should move from the latter city on Eintang
and Tayan, and thus cut Ghanchufu off from
Nankin. Accordingly 1,600 of the Liyang rebels
having been taken into the force, about 1,500 men,
the artillery, and the Hyson started for the capture
of Eintang, which, it was expected, would surrender.

On the 18th March these troops marched through
a devastated country for Eintang, in the vicinity of
which they arrived on the 21st. The city is small
and had little cover round it except on the north-
east angle, which it was determined to breach. The
rebels made little show, and at daybreak the guns

72 Gordon' Campaign in China.

were plaoed in position. Just, however, as they
were about to open fire, a courier came in from the
Governor of Soochow reporting the irruption of a
large rebel force from Ghanohufu towards Kongyin
and Chanzu; as they had already taken Fushan
and were threatening the two former cities, causing
great alarm at Soochow and Quinsan, which were
only weakly garrisoned, the Governor concluded by
requesting the return of some of the force to repel
this invasion. The guns being now in position, it
was thought better to try and oapture the city before
returning, and arrangements were made for the
assault by placing the men in boats on the creek
leading into the ditch of the city. A breach was
soon formed and the gunboats started to the assault,
when the rebels mounted the breach and opened a
heavy fire on the advance; the writer (who went
along the bank with the gunboats) on approaching
the edge of the ditch saw that the stone bridge over
it was unbroken and imprudently ordered a change
of plan in the moment of exeoution of the assault,
directing the troops to land, and assault across the
bridge. This change of plan gave the rebels
courage, and though the breach was thrioe assaulted,
they repelled each attempt with considerable loss to
the assailants. It was, therefore, determined to
desist* and to return to Liyang, leaving the 1,000

Gordon's Campaign in China. 73

infantry who had been engaged at Kintang to
prooeed with a fresh regiment to the attack of the
invading rebels from Ghanohnfu. The Kintang
rebels harassed the force very much during the
night of the 23rd March, creeping np and throwing
powder bags into the boats, but at daybreak they
fell back and the retreat was unmolested.

Arriving at Liyang on the night of the 24th,
the defeated troops were disembarked, and a fresh
regiment, with 1,600 of the Liyang ex-rebels who
had been drafted into the force, started for Teeing
and Wusieh, where they arrived on the 26th March,
and where more information was obtained of the
rebel invasion which had thrown the country into
a regular panic

It appeared that the rebels had established posts
from Chanchufu along the south of Kongyin to
Chansu, where the head of the force lay, and as time
pressed, it was thought advisable to let their Chiefs
know that the troops were still in existence by
attacking their communications, which would tend
to bring them back and slacken their efforts against
Chanztu

A series of skirmishes near Niukiuehiaow ooourred
on the 27th and 28th, which tended to bring the
rebels back from Chanzu, but as the attacks were
made in a direction which might drive them into

74 Gordon's Campaign in China.

settled districts, it was thought advisable to move
round and attack Waisso — where they had now ac-
cumulated — from the east side, and to drive them
on the Imperialists who had now come from the
south and out of Kongyin, and held positions, bar-
ring the rebels from returning to Chanchufu ; along
this line they had broken all the bridges, and thus
the rebels were in a complete cul de sac.

The regiment of infantry and the 1,600 enlisted
rebels were directed to move by road from Liukiu-
chow towards Waisso on the morning of the 31st
March, with directions to feel their right so as to
keep up a communication with the light artillery
boats wjiich proceeded by water to the east side of
Waisso. With the artillery boats was the writer,
who was unable to walk from a wound in the leg
received at Kintang. At noon the boats approached
Waisso, but there was no sign of the infantry,
though sounds of firing had been heard in the dis-
tance. The rebels perceived the boats, which
managed to get back with difficulty to Liukiuchow,
to which the infantry had returned in the greatest
disorder, seven offioers and 450 men, out of 2,000,
having been captured and killed. It appeared that
the officer in command had been lured on to the
vicinity of the rebel stockades, which he thought
he would take before the artillery came up ; his

Gordon's Campaign in China. 75

arrangements were so long in being made that, when
he was ready, the rebels had large parties out on eaoh
of his flanks, on which he began to retire. The
retreat soon degenerated into a rout, and the rebel
horsemen rode through and through the ranks until
close down to Iiukiuchow, when the fire of a company
of infantry and a couple of guns stopped them.
After suoh a disaster it became necessary to fall back
to Biangchow and to send for more troops. The
Governor now agreed to garrison liyang, from
which place the force was withdrawn on the 6th
April. They arrived at Iiukiuchow on the 9th,
and on the 11th were moved up towards the east
side of Waisso, which was surrounded by. sixteen
stockades; a close reconnaissance showed that the
most northerly stockade was weakly garrisoned, the
rebel forces being massed towards the south. By a
quick movement a regiment seized this stockade,
which turned the rebel rxmtion and compelled them
into a retreat, soon to be a flight. They were now
hemmed in on all sides, and had no entrenchments ;
the Imperialists and villagers hunted them down,
and out of the whole of this invading force barely
1,000 got back to Chanohufu. The bodies of the
officers and men killed on the disastrous 31st March
were recovered and buried.
In spite of the treachery, five cities in the south

76 Gordon's Campaign in China.

had surrendered to the Imperialists since the fall
of Soochow, and on the 20th March General Ching,
who had got some artillery officered by foreigners,
breached and carried by storm the city of Kachungfu,
which lies on the grand canal below Wokong. He
was, however, mortally wounded in the assault ; and
thus the Imperialists lost the best general they had.
Ching was a very brave, intelligent man, and would
have been a good leader in any country. On the
21st March the large city of Hangohow was evacu-
ated, after having repulsed an assault made by the
Franco-Chinese force.

The force now turned towards Ohanchufu, which
was nearly surrounded by the Imperialist f oroes to
the number of 80,000. It was defended by Hu
Wang, a most noted rebel chief, and a large garrison
of determined men. A detour was made to reach
the west gate, where the rebels had a nest of stockades
outside the walls, and some distanoe from them. On
the 22nd and 23rd April, these were attacked and
evacuated after a feeble resistance. In the grand
canal which runs close to the city, was the wreck
of the Firefly steamer, burnt by the Imperialists,
when lying at a stockade off the west gate, midway
between Chanohufu and Tayau, and which stockade
they had surprised.

As the ground admitted of it, and time did not

Gordon's Campaign in China. 77

press, batteries were thrown up 150 yards from the
wall for the breaching guns. These were made at
night by the Chinese, who worked admirably and
quietly ; they were finished by the 26th, and the
attack was fixed for the 27th. The Governor wished
that the Imperialists should try their hand in the
assault at two breaches which had been made at
different places in the wall by some foreigners they
had in their employ, and that the assault by the
foreign offioered troops should be delayed till they
had tried.

Accordingly the Imperialists made their attempt
at 1 p.m., but failed signally. At 2 p.m. the assault
of the force took place, a breach having been made
in the morning. The ditch was crossed by a bridge
of Blanshard's pontoons, but the rebels behaved with
such gallantry that they repulsed two attacks, forced
back the attacking column, and obliged them to
abandon the bridge, which the rebels, during the
next night, took up the breach into the town.

On the 9th May the troops and artillery of the
late General Ching arrived, and a bridge of casks
having been prepared, an approach was made from
the batteries to the edge of the ditch, by which the
attacking columns could advance to the assault
under cover. The oask bridge was boomed across
on the night of the 10th of May, and another breach

78 Gordon's Campaign in China.

having been made by dung's artillery, the place
was assaulted at both these breaches, after giving the
rebels several false alarms by bugle. A party of
Imperialists, under Go Sung Ling, attacked with
the foreign offioered force. Both assaults suooeeded,
though the rebels fought desperately, and threw the
usual amount of powder bags among the stormers.

The 32-pounder gun taken from the Firefly steamer
lay on the other side of the breach, loaded to the
muzzle, and intended to sweep the breach ; it had,
however, missed fire.

The rebel chief, Hu Wang, was beheaded; but,
as a rule, few others felL

With this action ended the operations of the
force, which was paid off and dissolved by the
1st June.

The fall of Ghanohufu led to the evacuation of
Tayan, on the 13th May; Kintang had been- eva-
cuated on the 25th April, and there only remained
in rebel possession Ghangching, which surrendered
on the 4th July ; Nankin, which was taken by storm
on the 13th July, the 42-foot wall having been
blown down for a distance of 150 feet by a mine
placed at the end of a gallery driven from a stock-
ade 200 yards from the city ; and Wuehufu, which
was evacuated on the 28th August, 1864.

In concluding these imperfect notes, testimony

Gordon's Campaign in China. 79

must be borne to the gallant behaviour of the brave
foreigners who officered the force. Numbering in
all 130, they had 35 killed and 73 wounded ; while ]
the Chinese, out of 4,000, had 520 killed and 920
wounded. The losses at Waisso raised the number
of killed beyond its usual proportion to the number
wounded.

The total oost of the foroe for the fourteen months
the writer held the command was about £200,000.

Should any future war with China arise, too much
attention cannot be paid to the close reconnoitring
of the enemy's positions, in which there are always
some weak points; and it is to be hoped that our
leaders may incline to a more scientific mode of
attack than has hitherto been in vogue. The hasty
attacks generally made on Asiatic positions oost
valuable lives, invite failure, and prevent the science
of war theoretically aoquired at considerable oost
being tested in the best school, viz., that of actual
practice.

O. G. G.

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